Vaporizer in atmosphere of electrically charged gas



Oct. 8, 1935. Q E. R. GOULD 2,016,491

VAPORIZER IN ATMOSPHERE 0F ELECTRICALLY CHARGED GAS Filed June 26, 1934 Patented Oct. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES 7 VAPORIZER IN ATMOSPHERE OF ELEC- TRICALLY CHARGED GAS Edgar R. Gould, Brookline, Mass.

Application June 26, 1934, Serial No. 732,464

. 3 Claims.

With this and other objects in view, the va- I rious features of the invention consist in certain novel features of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating the preferred form of the invention, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of my improved vaporizer with a supply tank or reservoir connected thereto; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pan disassembled from the remainder of the vaporizer; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View of the cover portion removed from the pan; and Fig. 4 is a section in elevation of the cover and pan in assembled relation, taken generally on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is concerned with the problem of maintaining an intimate contact between an electrically charged body of air and an oil such as pine oil to be vaporized by such contact. To secure the maximum effectiveness of the apparatus the oil should be maintained in a thin film in contact with the charged gas passing thereover, and should be continuously replenished in small and relatively constant increments to avoid the formation of stagnant portions of oil which tend to scum or cook and prevent the desired operation, namely, the vaporization of the oil in the form of a fine mist readily disseminated throughout the charged air current and delivered from the apparatus in this form. If a constantly supplied body of oil at the proper level is not maintained, the operation becomes intermittent and non-uniform, the supply tending to block off and cease feeding, and then suddenly meeting the demand for oil by feeding a surplus quantity which causes a like intermittent operation in the formation of the vapor. The apparatus, unlike the ordinary type of gravity feed liquid level reservoir, involves problems due tothe character of the oil employed, the necessity for an accurate and determinable level to maintain the requisite thin film, and the requirement for relatively continuous constant feed to avoid even the slightest variation in this film. The apparatus in addition avoids intermixture and possible contamination --5 of the vaporizable liquid in the supply reservoir by charged air or gas through the employment of a separate feed chamber sealed from the .gas space and constantly replenishing the oil film from beneath without allowing substantial en- .10 trance of gas into the feed'chamber or the reservoir communicating therewith. The feed chamber is vented directly to atmosphere, further promoting a constant feed and making the feed independent of variations in the pressure which may 15] be present in thegas chamber.

Referring morev particularly to the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the vaporizer-proper comprises a liquid pan l0 having a relatively smooth bottom portion l2 provided with a cir- 20 cular depression It communicating with longitudinal feed grooves iii. The pan is provided with a removable cover l8 resting upon the rim 20 of the cover, and generally sealing the space provided thereby. The removable cover is'provided 25 with a gas inlet '22 and generally tangential outlet 24- Electrically charged gas' in the form of air isconductedto the :inlet.22..under sufficient pressure to cause the gas to traverse through the vaporizer and outlet 24. During its traverse 30' the gas is caused to pursue a tortuous path over the surface of the oil by partitions or baffle members 26 and 28, and the sealed partition 30, the path of the gas being indicated generally in dot and dash lines. The partition 36, as indicated 35 more particularly in Fig. 4, is flush with the rim 29 at its lower or meeting edge, and contacts with the bottom 52 of the pan to seal the feed chamber 32 from the gas chamber surrounding it. The fresh oil to be vaporized is delivered to the cham- 40 ber 32 and flows thence into the surrounding gas chamber through the central depression l4 and the communicating groove 16, as shown more particularly in Fig. 4. By proper maintenance of the oil level slightly above the level of the fiat 5 bottom l2, a thin film of oil is caused to spread over the entire bottom for intimate contact with the charged gas. The maintenance of this level and its constant replenishment is of the utmost importance in this type of apparatus.

The oil is normally delivered to the feed chamber 32 by gravity, this being accomplished through an inverted reservoir in the form of a bottle 35, which may be threaded at its neck into an in,-

ternally threaded nipple 36. This nipple or fit- 55 a slight projection 50, which-aids materially inthe continuous supply of the requisite small quan-- tities of oil, probably due to the fact that the projection formed at the edge of the opening produces in efiect a miniature spout which promotes delivery of the oil in the form of small and finely divided droplets.

In operation, after'filling the rese is threaded into the cover until the bottom of the delivery spout contacts with the adjacent region of the pan. Thereafter the stem is backed ofi' until approximatelylocated in the position shown in Fig. 4 suitable for the maintenance of the oil level. It will be evident that with .the oil maintained at a height to produce a thin film over' the bottom l2 of'the pan, the delivery chamber 32 will be completely sealed from the surrounding space by the curved and continuous partition 30, the'lower edge of which contacts with the bottom of the pan and is sealed by the liquid; New oil delivered to the chamber may fiow outwardly throughthe longitudinal grooves and replenish the film, but the space .within the chamber is prevented from contamination through the surrounding-gas space.

The interior of the chamber is constantly maintained at atmospheric pressure through the provision of a vent 52 formed in the cover, as indicated in Fig. 3, and causing the interior of the feed chamber to communicate with atmosphere at one side of the stem.

It is important in this type of apparatus that the electrically charged air or gas be maintained in this state and prevented from losing its positive or negative charge. To'this end it may be desirable to provide the interior of the gaschamber with means encountered by the gas and charged similarly to the gas to cause maintenance 'oi'r the stem' the conduction of the gas through the chamber and its contact with the liquid.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for promoting contact between an electrically charged gas and a vaporizable liquid comprising a gas and liquid contact chamber, a feed chamben'a detachable supply member for replenishing the feed chamber by' gravity, ahollow stem closedat its bottom portion and venting through an opening formed in the side and bottom, the edge of the opening at the bottom being depressed to promote delivery of small quantities of liquid.

2. Apparatus for promoting contact between an electrically charged gas and a vaporizable liquid comprising a pan having a fiat bottom for the formation of a liquid film with feed grooves formed in the bottom for supplying the film, a cover. assembled with thepan and forming in conjunction therewith a closed contact chamber,

a sealing partition for providing a separate feed chamber, a supply fitting threadedly engaged with the cover above the feed chamber, a liquid reservoir connected to the supply, and means for venting the feed chamber to atmosphere.

3. Apparatus for promoting contact between an electrically charged gas and a vaporizable liquidcomprising a vaporizer housing enclosing a as and liquid contact chamber, means for main taining a film of liquid within the chamber, means for causing contact between the gas and liquid, means located in the gas space above the liquid designed to maintain an electric charge, and a connection for imposing a charge of the desired polarity upon the vaporizer housing and connect- ,ed means.

, EDGAR R. GOULD. 

